Category: Fr Rory Writes

Then, “The Day of Pentecost came”.

My heart and my soul belong to this event.  So I consistently return to the lighting of the first candle of each new year in Christ …… the candle of Hope.  This is so well focused in the prayer “Come down, O Love Divine, seek thou this soul of mine, and visit it with thine own ardour glowing”.

As I become more aware of the reality that the church is now facing, so I acknowledge a deep sadness in me.  I quickly return to that first candle, the candle that will never go out “the candle of Hope”.  With so much focus upon the great lack of priests and the consequences to the decisions that are made i.e. the effects upon the borders of the diocese in Ireland.  Its effects upon all the parishes of our diocese are now very real and are in place.

We had the first meeting in the new order of things, and it highlights the challenge of life that is to come.  For more   courage I go back to the home that I grew up in, and the words that come to my mind from there  “isn’t that          providence Maura”, so underpinning it with more hope.  Among my many weaknesses is cowardice; always aware that I am very bad at dealing with conflict.  Now we will have to get on with it, and with the help of God, it will come to fruition.  I am truly grateful for all the work that is being done.  It is great credit to our parish; hidden irony.  So the weeks and months to come are so important that we bear fruit and please God much fruit.  So let us send out with as much confidence as we can and a big, big thank you for all the work that is going into “my” I hoped “our” Jubilee Event.

Next Sunday we celebrate the Great Feast of Pentecost

“Pour forth we beseech thee O Lord thy grace, into our hearts that we to whom the incarnation of Christ was made known by the message of an angel”.

I continue to return to the seed that has to be sown, then the saplings start to grow; cultivation plays such an important part.   A time comes when that participation becomes a critical part as in the natural order of our lives,     nourishment plays an essential part.  To stop or to neglect to nourish a body has a large effect, sometimes critical.  We have reached the second stage in our plans for baptism, and from this all the ministries must flow and continue to  develop and grow.  When we were in the seminary the R.C.I.A. process was continually brought to our attention.  Unfortunately all our parishes were not prepared for it, and maybe parish priests not prepared to listen.

Please God, after a lot of work I have persons within our parish community and with the help of the parish council, we are beginning to respond to the great challenge that is before us.  Bob Waters highlighted the importance of the

challenge that Pope Francis was introducing when he introduced the Synod.  Our work with baptism preparation is the key step into our response to the work that Bishop Richard has established with a plan for the diocese.

A focus for our prayer.

Back on the road again to give our attention to this special and important time of our year.

The Ascension of Our Divine Lord into Heaven, and the out pouring of the Holy Spirit at the Great Feast of Pentecost, provides us with the power of the Holy Spirit to help us to bear true witness to our faith. 

Almighty and ever living God, you raised up your son, Jesus Christ, when we afflicted Him with all our sins so having Him crucified.  Now that you have raised Him to life, and life of the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon us, so that we may receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control.  Help us to   become more responsible as the people of God, growing in the ministries of the church at this time.  Through your Holy Spirit we may become communities of faith, growing in the ministries.  At the present time we are especially  focused upon the ministry of welcome, and ministries of the eucharist, equally aware of ministry of the word, ministry of music; of formation, of social care and action.

Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

The Parish Council Meeting on Tuesday evening went very well; please God, it is preparing us as well as possible for our future.  At the heart of this is the need to become communities of faith.  In order to do this the ministries of the church are most important.  We will establish a structure to develop these ministries.  Clearly this calls for a syllabus and a time frame to be established, so that all can play a full part in the life and liturgy of the church. 

I just received a letter from Bishop Richard confirming that Fr Kevin Dring has been appointed as Moderator of the Moderated Parish for the communities currently making up the Eastbourne and St Leonards Deanery.  I know you will join with him in continuing to develop the Pastoral Plan across the communities involved.

Just a lovely, lovely hour on a Saturday morning with Adoration and Veneration of the Blessed Sacrament,

and available to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a time of grace and peace. 

Time is flying by, but thanks be to God for Holy Week and Easter.  It is a loss to see the Garden of Remembrance  installed at the Altar sliding away.   So our greatest care is the Ascension with Jesus returning to His true place in our Fathers House in Heaven.  As these signs and symbols of a great season move on, it is essential that we focus upon this time; the most important time in the whole year.  The words of Jesus; ‘It is good for you that I should go back to the father,  because when I go I will send you the Holy Spirit’.  Good preparation to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, must be the most important thing for all of us.

Then down the road is my Golden Jubilee year.  I look forward to its celebration.  The date chosen has been the second Sunday in July, which is the 14th.  Most important to it will be our return to the sponsored walk which got off again to a good start last year.  As we have two churches making up our parish community it is essential that both should celebrate the occasion and have a positive energetic experience.  An experience of grace, good stories to tell, an achievement to remember and so the emphasis is on all that can be done together now that in the near future there will be a real shortage of priests.  God willing I am hoping to soldier on for a time.

Hail Mary full of grace, The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, Blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

We represent last weeks window because it is so fit for purpose.  Why the Hail Mary? Because it is absolutely important to realise that salvation has come down from heaven, that the Kingdom of darkness has a prevailing effect in our world.  So the Son of God, Jesus, came down from heaven to restore fallen mankind, that is why Deacon John’s presentation last week is so helpful, so important.  Nourishment, that is so important for our bodies;  is vitally          important for our spiritual life.

Let us have the courage of our Christian convictions to share our Faith as St Thomas did, and to recognize the “nail marks.”  We are not to keep the gift of Faith locked in our hearts, but to share it with our children, our families and our neighbours, always remembering the words,: “Every believer in this world must become a spark of Christ’s light,” spoken by Pope St. John XXIII. “We all have scars from our own Good    Fridays that remain, long after our own experiences of resurrection.  Our ‘nail marks’ remind us that all pain and grief, all ridicule and suffering, are transformed into healing and peace in the love of God that we          receive  from, and extend to others. The “nail marks” of Jesus are all around us in the lives of those living out their own Calvary’s.  Jesus calls us to be willing to place ourselves in the pain and struggle of others and bring the joy and peace of Easter into hearts, entombed in winter cold and darkness.”

Hail Mary full of grace, The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, Blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Having celebrated the event of Easter we look forward to experiencing the fruits of the Holy Spirit when we celebrate Pentecost.

Deacon John has provided a focus for our preparations:-

Let us have the courage of our Christian convictions to share our Faith as St Thomas did, and to recognize the “nail marks.”  We are not to keep the gift of Faith locked in our hearts, but to share it with our children, our families and our neighbours, always remembering the words,: “Every believer in this world must become a spark of Christ’s light,” spoken by Pope St. John XXIII. “We all have scars from our own Good Fridays that remain, long after our own experiences of resurrection.  Our ‘nail marks’ remind us that all pain and grief, all   ridicule and suffering, are transformed into healing and peace in the love of God that we receive  from, and   extend to others. The “nail marks” of Jesus are all around us in the lives of those living out their own Calvary’s.  Jesus calls us to be willing to place ourselves in the pain and struggle of others and bring the joy and peace of Easter into hearts, entombed in winter cold and darkness.”

Looking forward to and preparing for Holy Week,

actions speak louder than words.

Deacon John Writes:

Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday and I suggest a special activity for the last days of Lent – Holy Week:

Palm Sunday: Come to Stations of the Cross and Benediction today – St George’s 3pm.

Monday: Determine one way that you will help the poor this week.

Tuesday: Spend the day offering positive compliments and thoughts.

Wednesday: What have you been putting off during Lent? Do it today.

Thursday: Decide in what small way you will serve others.

Good Friday: Attend a Good Friday service.

Holy Saturday: Before sleeping tonight offer a prayer of gratitude for the gift of eternal life.

Easter Sunday: Do at least one act of kindness today.

Easter blessings in abundance to you all. Deacon John and Fr Rory.

I suspect that many of you do not see an item that our Bishop writes every week on the Diocesan internet site. I have, therefore, included some of it in our newsletter this week as Fr Rory has asked me to write for a couple of weeks.

Last week Bishop Richard wrote in his weekly E-bulletin on the Internet that Pope Francis inaugurated a Year of Prayer last Sunday calling on the faithful “to pray more fervently… and to experience the power of hope in God.” The Year of Prayer aims to help Catholics prepare for the 2025 Jubilee – which has the theme “Pilgrims of Hope” – and is dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in our personal lives, in the life of the Church, and throughout the world. 

The Jubilee Year in 2025 will be a special time to pause and reflect; a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. People across our community of faith can learn more about the       upcoming Jubilee Year at the Jubilee website: www.iubilaeum2025.va.

“Jesus show us the way to the Father”

Bishop Richard has presented to us the outcome of the process of consultation to provide a pastoral plan for the future of our diocese.  This is now on the website and is available to all, and we are encouraged to study it.

I return to the most important focus of all “Jesus show us the way to the Father”.  I am greatly sad, and when I return to the sharing’s that were made at the beginning of the consultation concerning the life of the church after the 2nd Vatican Council.  Our responsibility to be aware of nearly all our seminaries closing, with a resulting shortage of priests, and our responsibility to God.   Jesus show us the way to the Father.  God our Father knows what is best.

A body is made up of many parts working together and very good work is being done to serve this.  Our celebrations over Christmas and our expectation for our future plans for working together is exactly what is needed.  Stephen and Martin are giving great leadership, and a most important date when we make our first step to meet our challenge is now announced for Sunday 21st January, 2pm to 4pm in St Wilfrid’s Church.  A very special and important date for our future.